Mississippi State
Georgia
No. 42 State Women's Tennis Falls To No. 6 Georgia In SEC Quarterfinals
April 17, 2015 | Women's Tennis
With the loss, the 42nd-ranked Bulldogs fell to 15-11 on the season while Georgia improved to 19-5 in advancing to Saturday's semifinals. MSU will now await word on NCAA Women's Tennis Championship selections which will be announced on Tuesday, April 28. State is looking to earn its first NCAA bid since 2005.
"It was tough for us to turn around and play a team like Georgia just 12 hours after a grueling match against South Carolina," said MSU coach Daryl Greenan. "I thought we did a solid job, in spite of the conditions. Overall, we played them much better than what we did two weeks ago. It was a good tournament for us, and should help us to qualify for the NCAA tournament."
Mississippi State battled hard throughout most of doubles play Friday, leading on two courts early in the match. However, a pair of 8-5 setbacks on courts one and two helped UGA seal the doubles point, as the MSU tandem of Martina Frantova and Georgiana Patrasc fell to 19th-ranked Lauren Herring and Ellen Perez on court one. UGA's 24th-ranked Silvia Garcia and Kennedy Shaffer clinched the point on court two, defeating Bulldogs Jasmine Lee and Naomi Tran. Doubles play was suspended at the clinch, as the MSU duo of Timea Guibe and Louise Ronaldson trailed 7-6 on court three against UGA's Laura Patterson and Hannah King.
State showed some fight in singles as well, as the Bulldogs competed well early in the first sets. MSU's 106th-ranked Patrasc took the first set 6-3 against UGA's 69th-ranked Ellen Perez, but UGA would gain the upper hand by taking the other five first sets.
No. 83 Caroline Brinson put Georgia on the board first in singles, taking a 6-2, 6-1 decision on court five against MSU's Jennifer Brown for a 2-0 lead. In a near simultaneous finish, UGA then clinched the match with wins on courts one and two, with MSU's 35th-ranked Lee falling 6-3, 6-0 to UGA's No. 7-ranked Herring and State's Frantova falling 6-3, 6-2 to No. 93 Garcia.
Singles play was suspended following the clinch, with MSU's Patrasc just a game away from victory, leading 6-3, 5-3 over Perez on court three. MSU's Ronaldson was down 6-3, 2-2 on court four to Georgia's 46th-ranked Shaffer and Bulldog Guibe trailed 6-2, 5-3 to UGA's Mariana Gould at No. 6.
For more information on Mississippi State women's tennis and updates, fans can follow the Bulldogs on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at HailStateWT.
No. 6 Georgia 4, No. 42 Mississippi State 0
2015 SEC Championship - Quarterfinals
Friday, April 17, 2015 – Carolina Tennis Center – Columbia, S.C.
Doubles
1. No. 19 Herring/Perez (UGA) def. Frantova/Patrasc (MSU), 8-5
2. No. 24 Garcia/Shaffer (UGA) def. Lee/Tran (MSU), 8-5
3. King/Patterson (UGA) vs. Guibe/Ronaldson (MSU), 7-6, susp.
Singles
1. No. 7 Lauren Herring (UGA) def. No. 35 Jasmine Lee (MSU), 6-3, 6-0
2. No. 93 Silvia Garcia (UGA) def. Martina Frantova (MSU), 6-3, 6-2
3. No. 106 Georgiana Patrasc (MSU) vs. No. 69 Ellen Perez (UGA), 6-3, 5-3, susp.
4. No. 46 Kennedy Shaffer (UGA) vs. Louise Ronaldson (MSU), 6-3, 2-2, susp.
5. No. 83 Caroline Brinson (UGA) def. Jennifer Brown (MSU), 6-2, 6-1
6. Mariana Gould (UGA) vs. Timea Guibe (MSU), 6-2, 5-3, susp.
Order of finish
Doubles: 1,2
Singles: 5,2,1
Players Mentioned
